The atmosphere in the lobby turned silent. Eluard's prolonged reaction made the boys anxious. They didn't know if Jinmu's answer satisfied the academy master or not.
The braided young man became fond of Jinmu because of his persistent nature, 'It's a shame I cannot fight such an admirable person.', he thought.
Eluard suddenly let out a chuckle, "You seemed to have misunderstood something, Jinmu Lin. I didn't say that your magic root was crippled to nothingness."
They let out a gasp because they clearly understood what the academy master implied.
'Do-does he has the power to repair a damaged magic root?!', Jinmu shared the same thought with the other two. However, Jinmu became wary and didn't think of asking Eluard if his impairment could be fixed.
"Academy master, regardless of what I have said, or what the academy could offer to me, my point still stands.", he persisted.
Eluard nodded in satisfaction, "Good lad.", waving his hands to dismiss Jinmu and Lucan. If Jinmu had asked if his magic root could be fixed, then it implied that Jinmu was easily swayed by temptations and such an unstable mindset violates the fourth tenet of the Heavenly Magic Academy.
His magic root's effect would also become ironic since it couldn't calm Jinmu down when faced with such discovery.
If it happened, Jinmu would then be flung out of the academy just like Lucan from before. The former heaved a sigh of relief and went to the sides.
Eluard stared at the final recruit.
"Academy master, I am Solordo Luchador from the... somewhere in Aludia. I am pleased that I have gathered your interest and was invited to this prestigious academy.", Solordo bowed.
Eluard nodded. He looked at Solordo's attributes and was shocked by the details the system provided.
[ Name: Solordo Luchador ]
[ Age: 16 years old ]
[ Status: Alive ]
[ Affiliation: Knights of Aludia (Separated), League of Wizardry (Separated), Luchador Household (Disowned) ]
[ Magic Power: Apprentice Mage (Median Ring) ]
[ Magic Root: Harmonic Duplex Magic Root (Mythical) ]
[ Magic Aptitude: 8.8/10 (Apprentice Mage) ]
[ Magic Affinity: Darkness, Wind ]
[ Harmonic Duplex Magic Root (Mythical) ]
[ Removes restriction of cultivating both chivalric will and magic on the user. ]
[ Additional Effect: Harmonic Essence Resonance ]
[ User can simultaneously gather both chivalric will and mana without side effects. ]
[ Degradation Effect: Chivalric-Magical Harmony ]
[ The power level of the two cultivation paths must remain balanced. Imbalance of internal essence will result to a halt in cultivation. Cultivation progression is passively slowed by 25%. ]
[ Chivalric Will Power: Apprentice Knight (Tier 2) ]
[ Chivalric Core Grade: SSS ]
[ Chivalric Core Grade Effect: Allows imprinting of divine-rarity demonic/magical beasts into the user's chivalric core. ]
'An almost perfect dual cultivator?'
Eluard's reaction wasn't unfounded. Although one could have both chivalric core and magic root at the same time, the conflicting essences would kill them before they could start cultivating.
Eluard presumed that this must be because the humans or any similar species have adapted and evolved to only utilizing one cultivation path at a single time. The body was unable to handle the process when cultivating both, resulting in dangerous accidents for those who dared to try.
Furthermore, Solordo's affiliations were extraordinary, yet also partly concerning. To be disowned by his family meant that something must have happened.
"I see, a dual cultivator."
Solordo jolted in place, "Academy master, you can see through me?"
"The only things I cannot see in this world is the past and the future.", Eluard replied.
Solordo let go of his weapon and knelt, "Academy master, please help me. Everyone else has abandoned me after knowing that I both want to cultivate my chivalric will and magic cultivation! It doesn't matter if academy master can't help me on the path of knighthood. I will take care of it myself!"
Eluard asked, "Why do you insist on the path of dual cultivation?"
Tears formed in Solordo's eyes, "I-I… I want to preserve the gift that my mother gave to me! I was only a baby then when she died under the hands of the demons! I want to use both my father and my mother's inheritance to kill them all!"
Solordo then banged the ground with his head, "Academy master, I beg of you! I want to exact revenge on my mother and not let everyone dishonor the inheritance she had given to me!"
Back at his home, everyone else, even including his father, forced him to take the path of knighthood because they thought that his father could help him on that path. Solordo thought that it was a foolish thought and rejected their offers.
Even when Solordo followed what his father told him to do, a strange force entangled him, preventing any advancement in the path of knighthood. The force only vanished when he started cultivating magic.
Shocked as he was, he changed his path and started cultivating magic to a point that the strange force returned. This was when Solordo understood that he had to cultivate his chivalric will and magic at the same time.
Solordo insisted to his father that the dual cultivation path was his only way.
It then became the basis of misunderstanding between the father and the son, which then reached the ears of everyone in the household. Their views upon Solordo were full of disgust, describing his stupidity, narrow-mindedness, selfishness, and arrogance.
Solordo's father started calling him names until one day, his father erupted in anger and wished his son dead along with his mother a few years ago. Bathed in rage, Solordo charged out of the mansion and never returned.
Now, with a glistening hope in front of him, Solordo stopped his fa?ade and vented out his true emotions.
"A filial child, at least to your mother. However, know that I am only a guide to your path to greatness.", Eluard reminded.
He didn't want his students to depend on him deeply. First of all, he wasn't confident that he could teach them with perfect results. He was just someone who finished college in which teaching people wasn't a part of it.
Second, the students should learn to be independent at some point. After undergoing years of competitive and torturous education, Eluard knew that people could only depend on themselves to become what they want to be.
Requiring the help of other people wasn't a long-term benefit, nor was it certain insurance when things go awry.
"Yes, I understand, academy master!", Solordo replied.
Eluard was about to take them to the Pool of Revelations when his system prompted that Emi and Olivia have finished integrating with their system panels.
Eluard made haste, "Before we proceed to your enrollment, you must have a lot of questions with regards to your magic roots."
He was referring to Lucan and Solordo. Their magic roots might've been misunderstood by the people in Aludia after being appraised.
After all, appraisals only gave a vague result like the grade of their magic roots while the academy's Pool of Revelations would give them all the answers to their questions.
Although he could wait and have the boys integrate with the system, Olivia and Emi were still there. He might disturb them while they check out the system.
On the other hand, he could showcase how different Heavenly Magic Academy was when appraising its aspiring students. This would give a good impression to the boys.
"Follow me.", he gestured to the three after teleporting down.
The three boys were awestruck as they observed the crystal-clear pool in front of them.
"This is the Pool of Revelations. All of the secrets about your magic talent will be revealed here."
The boys gulped in anticipation.
"The truth lies beyond this pool. Bathe in the water and the light and it will guide your way. After you have awoken, stay here for I have something else to do. I will come back once I am done."
Eluard gestured Lucan to step in first.
Lucan slowly took his steps. When he reached the middle, the pool flashed brightly before he was transported to the other dimension.
He saw the board above and couldn't help but rub his eyes to see if he was dreaming. Then, when he arrived in front of the first book, he slumped to the ground and cried.
"I wasn't trash, I wasn't trash! I… I…", he was speechless. For all of his life, his magic root was denounced alongside his capability as a wizard.
To think that this strange phenomenon was a blessing in disguise.
"Academy master… thank you for answering my confusion…"
He stopped crying after a while and continued to read the rest.
The same incident happened to Jinmu and Solordo. Solordo had it worse after knowing why he couldn't advance his cultivation of either path.
'As I have concluded before, I need to cultivate both my chivalric will and magic before I could advance.'
After the short revelation, the three of them returned to reality and went out of the pool to patiently wait for Eluard. Experiencing the power of the Pool of Revelations made them revere Eluard as if he was a god.
The legends of the Heavenly Magic Academy told a few divine artifacts that existed inside but none in history has ever verified them at all.
Not until today where the three of them experienced it firsthand.
…
[ Student system integration completed. You have successfully enrolled 2 new students to the Heavenly Magic Academy. ], the system congratulated Eluard.
[ Main Task: Recruit 5 mage students in the Heavenly Magic Academy. ]
[ The Heavenly Magic Academy was once titled as the most supreme academy of magic. Its glorious name has been forgotten for long. Now, it is time for it to rise back again. ]
[ Specific Requirements: Students must have the following attributes. ]
[ Magic Root: At least profound magic root. ]
[ Magic Aptitude: 7 or higher. ]
[ Magic Affinity: None. ]
[ Reward: Magic Root (Mythical-Trait or Higher). Magic Aptitude (10 or higher). Magic Affinity (Universal) ]
[ Current Progress: 2/5 students enrolled. ]
Eluard wanted to check out the results of the system integration first. He teleported to the Altar of Rites and saw the two girls in a trance as they stared at the air with incredulous eyes.
"Have you received the gift?"
Eluard's question startled the two girls.
"Academy master… is this what we get after enrolling in the academy?", Olivia asked. The system panel in her eyes displayed her information and attributes in a way she could easily understand.
It was never been seen before in Aludia. If anything, the most they could do was to undergo 'appraisal' and the results, when compared to the 'system panel' in front of her, were hugely different.
'No wonder the Heavenly Magic Academy was classified as an imperial-level faction in the stories. Just the gift after enrolling far surpasses any sort of appraisal artifact in Aludia!', Olivia exclaimed in her mind.
Eluard was elated to know that they finally had their system panels. The feeling was like introducing your friend to video gaming and then playing along together for hours to come.
"I call it the 'system'. It can help you measure out your magic talent, power, and other information you want to know.", Eluard answered.
"You will understand more of it in the future. For now, go back to your dormitory rooms, wear your uniforms and wait for me at the main hall. I have another batch of students to enroll."
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